Dave Roberts is the Greatest Human Being Ever:
Screw this crap about teaching the American Revolution in our public schools. Sit kids down on day one, show them The Steal, and remind them how lucky they are to live in these magical times.It's true. That revolution thing never really panned out, but the Steal and its aftermath will resonate for centuries.
Red points us to this cool USA Today interview with the Man of Steal:
If I came to your house, is there a continuous video loop of that play?I know July 19, 2005 was covered.
(Laughs) No. I would be divorced if there was. I've got one room which is a sports room or my wife calls it a "dig me" room . There is the helmet I had when I stole the base and there is also my spikes and picture. But that is it. A continuous loop? No. ...
How often do people remind you of the play?
I played four seasons after the '04 season and there is not a day that went by during the baseball season where a member of Red Sox Nation would not say thank you. That is a fact. Unless I'm in my house and by myself, I'm pretty much hearing it all the time.
8 comments:
If there is a God, I hope it's Dave Roberts.
He's covered for 2/22/2009 as well.... I caught him during a practice before the start of Giant's spring training. He smiled, said thanks, and signed his name onto the bill of my 04 cap.
Thank You, Dave Roberts!!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!
I will never forget how I felt as I watched The Steal, and how I knew at that moment that EVERYTHING had changed. EVERYTHING.
Thank you, Dave Roberts!!
I will never be so excited about a stolen base again in my entire lifetime. My second favorite part about the steal is the immediate slide into a fist pump at home plate. That was textbook.
I was watching Red Sox in 2 at the gym and put my headphones into the TV when Dave Roberts came on. But stupid NESN played literally 30 seconds of the interview then cut to commercial and came back at a different point in the game.
"I played four seasons after the '04 season and there is not a day that went by during the baseball season where a member of Red Sox Nation would not say thank you. That is a fact. Unless I'm in my house and by myself, I'm pretty much hearing it all the time."
This is so great to hear (again) because it's exactly what he deserves. He deserves to be thanked every day for the rest of his life, and I hope he is.
At the time, I had a co-worker friend who enjoyed baseball casually, but got totally hooked on the '04 comeback, and became a Red Sox fan. (She was a quintessential New Yorker in all other respects.)
At work that weekend, we were talking about the game, she was all excited, and she said, "When that guy stole that base? Wow, that changed everything, didn't it? It really was so important. I never realized before what a difference something like that could make."
She was a very casual fan, and it was like a light got turned on for her about the subtleties of the game, that there was more to the game than she previously imagined.
I don't know if I'm explaining it right, but it was very cool. It changed her whole perspective on baseball.
It has to be the most famous stolen base in baseball history.
And let's not forget how he made Tom Gordon totally crap his pants on the mound in Game 5.
Post a Comment